Hawks' Shaw ends triple-overtime thriller

Michael Frolik #67 and Brandon Saad #20 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrate after Johnny Oduya #27 (not pictured) scored a goal in the third period in Game One of the NHL 2013 Stanley Cup Final at United Center on June 12, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois.Bruce Bennett
/ Getty Images

The Chicago Blackhawks players on the bench celebrate alomng with fans after Brandon Saad scored a goal in the second period against the Boston Bruins in Game One of the NHL 2013 Stanley Cup Final at United Center on June 12, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois.Bruce Bennett
/ Getty Images

Michael Frolik and Brandon Saad #20 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrate after Johnny Oduya (not pictured scored a goal in the third period against the Boston Bruins in Game One of the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Final at United Center on June 12, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois.Jonathan Daniel
/ Getty Images

CHICAGO — Nobody knew what to expect, not really, whether they said they did or not. The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks had been sealed in separate bubbles during this lockout-shortened season, East and West, and by the time they met in the Stanley Cup final all they had was practice with shadow teams, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. Time to find out what they had been missing. The series was a mystery; the game became one too.And Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final went from a rolling joy to a tense stalemate to a march into the night, past the point where the city lights marked the edge of town. It took three overtimes, and countless near-finishes, until finally with 7:52 left in the third OT, a point shot from Michael Rozsival drifted off Dave Bolland’s stick first, then caught a tiny piece of Andrew Shaw — his knee, it looked like — to end it all. Chicago won 4-3 to open the series. It was the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup final history. All it took was a double deflection that changed direction twice, on Chicago’s 63rd shot of the game.Boston had opened up a 3-1 lead 6:09 into the third period, and usually that’s a prison sentence for somebody, but the Blackhawks just flexed their speed and skill and size and kept coming, kept pushing, kept forcing the issue, and after 60 minutes there was more to play. Pittsburgh never scored like this, but never played like it, either.In overtime Tyler Seguin came close, and Nathan Horton came close before leaving with an undisclosed injury, and Seguin came close again, and David Krejci did, too. Just as Chicago leaned in the last two periods of regulation, Boston leaned back, but nobody scored.In double overtime, as the clock ticked into the morning in the East, it became a series of questions. Would Seguin end it? No. Patrick Kane? He slipped on a patch of ice while trying to turn a puck into the net. Michael Frolik? Crossbar. Chicago started getting more chances. In the final seconds, on a power play, Zdeno Chara hit a post, Milan Lucic fanned on the rebound, and Patrice Bergeron was stopped at the buzzer. It was right there, and it was gone. On we went.It dragged on, and Petr Klima’s name came up, floating in the air. Chicago killed two too-many-men penalties in overtime, and people looked up the longest game ever, that 1990 game where Klima scored for Edmonton at 15:13 of the third overtime in Boston.Kaspars Daugavins, the little-used Klima of Boston’s roster, was dragging a puck around a prone Corey Crawford, but was poke-checked by a desperately diving Johnny Oduya. It mattered, because a few minutes later it was over.The Blackhawks had attempted 78 shots to 40 for Boston in regulation, and 132 to 85 for the game. Pittsburgh had trouble generating opportunities; Chicago stamped them out, one after another. And they needed every one just to have a chance.

Lord knows these two teams had skated in enough momentum. Boston had won nine of 10 since losing Game 6 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, and Chicago had won seven of eight since falling behind the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in the second. It was as if both teams emerged from their near-death experiences determined as hell not to gaze into the abyss again, if they could help it.That arose, as the game went on. But they met, all right. After the traditionally tectonic anthem, the two teams were unleashed, and the crowd reacted to every hit like it was a punch in a heavyweight fight. A lot of bodies hit the ice.The scoring was opened when a body didn’t, though. Krejci avoided a car crash with a steaming Niklas Hjalmarsson behind Chicago’s net, and rolling off the hit like it was the hood of a car instead. Teams keep trying to do this against the Bruins, for some reason — they decide to prove they’re tough. After Game 1 against Pittsburgh Brenden Morrow said, “Everyone knows we’re not going to be pushed around,” as if it mattered. Pittsburgh never held a lead in the series.They went back and forth after that — Lucic, Brandon Saad, and in the third, Bergeron scored a power-play goal that made the iron sing on its way in, and made the score 3-1 with 13:51 left. Felt like the lights were close to out. This was, obviously, not true.But with the ice firmly tilted Chicago’s way, Bolland scored off a Torey Krug giveaway with 12 minutes left, and Oduya banked in off Andrew Ference’s skate with 7:46 left, side pocket, and it was tied 3-3, and the place was thundering like the anthem was being sung again. It was a lucky goal, but Chicago earned it.Then an overtime, and another one, and another one. So now everyone gets two days off to rest, and to examine the abundant available evidence to discern what it means. And what they learn won’t matter until they do this dance again.barthur@nationalpost.comtwitter.com/bruce_arthur

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